This Night His Brother Took His Place Chapter 15
He held me in his arms, and I didn’t move for a moment.
“What kind of return gift?”
Everett lowered his eyes to look at me, as if he was seriously considering it, then shamelessly said, “Kiss me again.”
I almost laughed out of exasperation.
“Is this how werebeasts court? So perfunctory?”
“If you want it to be more formal, that’s fine too.”
How formal?
He stared at me, his gaze deepening a little: “For example, first take you back to Calenorvale to register, then buy you a house, buy you clothes, fill a room with plush tails, and finally—”
“And finally what?”
“Finally, give myself to you as well.”
I froze for two seconds, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Everett, where on earth did you learn all this nonsense?”
“I didn’t learn it.” The tips of his ears turned slightly red. “I just thought of it now.”
“You just thought of it and you’re already this smooth?”
“With you, I get good at it very quickly.”
I realized that once Everett figured things out, his charm was far more lethal than before.
In the past, at most he would be teased by me until he rolled in the snow, but now, he had learned to tease me back.
I cleared my throat, trying to regain the initiative.
“Weren’t you just worried I’d change my mind?”
“I’m not worried anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because you kissed me.”
He said it so seriously that it made my ears burn.
I turned my face away: “It was just a kiss.”
Everett hummed in response, but his tail mischievously wrapped around my waist.
“Well, my memory isn’t great. I need a few more kisses to remember it clearly.”
Me: “…”
Everett was learning to be bad way too fast.
Just as I was about to swat his tail away, there was another knock at the door.
Everett and I fell silent at the same time.
It seemed like the threshold today was out to get us.
Everett went to open the door with a dark expression, only to find that it wasn’t anyone else, but the delivery worker.
“Hello, the air conditioner you ordered earlier has arrived.”
I was stunned for a moment before I remembered it was the one Everett had ordered before. The workers carried in the outdoor and indoor units and quickly began the installation.
I stood to the side watching, suddenly wanting to laugh: “So you really wanted to get rid of your tail.”
Everett’s expression didn’t change: “I was immature back then.”
“And now you’ve grown up?”
“Yes.” He looked down at me. “Now I know my tail is more useful than an air conditioner.”
The worker was climbing a ladder, but when he heard that, he almost slipped, his expression quite something.
I held back a laugh and tugged at Everett’s sleeve: “Tone it down a bit.”
He leaned down closer: “What, are you shy?”
“No.”
“Then why are your ears red?”
“It’s hot.”
“The air conditioner isn’t installed yet…”
After the installation was finished, the room finally quieted down.
The new air conditioner blew warm air, and the room quickly heated up.
I sat on the edge of the bed, holding the tiger plush that had almost been ruined in the wash, lost in thought.
Everett was tidying up the boxes left by the workers. Seeing that I was silent, he walked over and asked, “What’s wrong?”
I looked up at him: “The air conditioner is installed.”
“Mm.”
“So does that mean I won’t need to hold your tail anymore?”
Everett paused for a moment.
Even though he knew I was teasing him again, he still looked at me seriously for two seconds, then said softly, “You can hold it if you want to.”
“But I’m afraid of getting hot.”
“I can give you just one tail.”
“But I also like the fur on your belly.”
“…That works too.”
I stared at him and suddenly laughed.
“Everett.”
“Hm?”
“You really look like a tamed big cat right now…”
He raised an eyebrow, then suddenly leaned in close to me.
“Who’s taming who, that’s not certain yet.”
After saying that, he casually took the plush from my arms, sat down himself, and trapped me between the edge of the bed and him.
Warm air blew gently, the snow outside the window glowed white, and inside, it felt as if only our breathing remained in the quiet.
My heart started beating inexplicably fast.
“What are you doing?”
“Confirming something.”
“What?”
“Now that the air conditioner is installed, will you still come looking for my tail in the middle of the night?”
I stared at him, stubbornly: “Not necessarily.”
Everett let out a low laugh.
“That’s fine.”
“I’ll just come to you myself anyway.”
Me: “…”
How did Everett manage to be both innocent and so skilled at the same time?
Just as I was being overwhelmed by his gaze, my communicator suddenly lit up.
It was a message from Andres.
There was only a short line.
“The agreement has taken effect, the house has been transferred to your name. Also, there is a follow-up eye recovery check in Calenorvale, it’s recommended you go within a week.”
I stared at the line, stunned.
Everett saw it too, his expression pausing slightly.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly quieted.
Calenorvale.
Everett looked at me and asked softly, “Do you want to go?”
I didn’t answer right away.
It would be a lie to say I didn’t want to.
I couldn’t stay trapped in Coralis Town forever.
My eyes were almost healed, and life couldn’t stay here forever either.
But when I thought about leaving, the first thing that came to mind wasn’t how bustling Calenorvale was, but—
What about Everett?
I looked up at him and suddenly asked, “If I go to Calenorvale, what will you do?”
Everett was taken aback.
The next second, he almost didn’t hesitate before saying, “I’ll go with you.”
My heart skipped a beat.
But he seemed to think this was the most natural thing in the world, his tone perfectly calm.
“Wherever you go, I’ll go.”
“Anyway—” he paused, the tips of his ears turning red, “haven’t you already chosen me?”
